This invention relates to a method of welding together plastic laminates, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to the welding together of graphite fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials such as polyether ether ketone, herein called Peek.
Heretofore, there has been no effective economical process for joining two or more laminates fabricated from graphite fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials. Such a process is required to allow the immediate application of joining together the materials for buildup and assembly of structural parts used with aircraft airframes or other applications. In the following United States Patents, various types of welding processes are disclosed using electrodes for joining together fusible material. They are:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,101,403 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,979 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,254 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,982 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,588.
None of these prior art patents specifically point out the unique features and advantages of joining together multilayer pieces of Peek material for the assembly of advanced thermoplastic structural parts.